Notices on computers

[beeswax]

Last week I was called to the D&T room to unblock a printer and saw a notice on a computer monitor, "This computer isn't working. Do not use." It hadn't been reported to us (the keyboard was unplugged). On Wednesday I took my daughter for a university interview, and while she was being shown round the physics dept and the campus I went to the library to do some work. In the library was a machine with a notice, "This computer isn't working. It will probably never work again."

We don't have a helpdesk in school (teacher apathy) but i would have thought a university would find a helpdesk essential. Helpdesk or not, how do you get staff to report faults?

[jamesb]

I'll almost guarantee that the university has a helpdesk, getting people to actually use it is another matter.

 

I once did an experiment back when I was working in schools where I put a (crudely) handwritten notice on a computer in one of the IT labs, saying that it wasn't working. I then waited to see how long it'd be before someone would log it on the helpdesk system, or even just report it to me in person.

 

After two months I took the notice down. The problem had never been reported.

[EduTech]

Our staff report all faults on the helpdesk we have in place, now not ever member of staff here is computer literate so to speak so we do get the odd corridor request etc but we do try and encourage them to put it on the helpdesk.

 

It is mainly our ICT Teachers that use it, but we are slowly managing to get everyone else to follow suit.

 

things like this just take time..

 

I understand what your saying and we used to get this all the time, staff just think arr we'll stick a sign on it and they will know its broke even we dont tell them lol.

 

[SteveBentley]

i would have thought a university would find a helpdesk essential.

 

Here, it depends on which bit of the Uni you're dealing with. The central IT function which looks after the infrastructure and centralised facilities has a helpdesk, but then each School of the university has its own IT team who run things however it works for them.

[pete]

We have a sign for this:

 

"If you don't lodge a fault report, we don't know it's broken. No, really, we don't prowl the building turning on every PC at night, checking to see if it's OK, and all its software is happy."

 

shamelessly stolen from somewhere on the Internet.

[FatBoy]

We get all staff to report problems via e-mail which is a distribution list between all the ICT team. Then we use a Macro/form on the e-mail which picks the e-mail up and inserts it into our web based helpdesk.

 

It is hard work getting them to log the log instead of just grabbing you in the corridor but we have set a no e-mail no job type policy up here to force them. It's protecting us really... if there are ever any questions as to "Do the ICT team have enough work" (In the terms that they mite be looking to lay someone off in these uncertain times) we have the prove to show there is more then enough work!

[featured_spectre]

I tell the staff to use the helpdesk otherwise the problem will NEVER be fixed. The headteacher (who doesn't like me much) agreed that it was the way to go. Just get SMT on your side and you should be good to go!

[Gatt]

I tell the staff to use the helpdesk otherwise the problem will NEVER be fixed. The headteacher (who doesn't like me much) agreed that it was the way to go. Just get SMT on your side and you should be good to go!

 

Same here - no helpdesk ticket - no resolution...

[mpe]

Last week I was called to the D&T room to unblock a printer and saw a notice on a computer monitor, "This computer isn't working. Do not use." It hadn't been reported to us (the keyboard was unplugged).

 

Ah the "telephathic reporting method". Which some people persist in using dispite it's poor sucess rate

[Hightower]

Our staff quite actively use our helpdesk. The odd one or two come in and speak to us in person and then when finished they still log it so it works quite well.

[mpe]

We have a sign for this:

 

"If you don't lodge a fault report, we don't know it's broken. No, really, we don't prowl the building turning on every PC at night, checking to see if it's OK, and all its software is happy."

 

You could also add "we DO actually have homes to go to" and "With most of the software we wouldn't know it it was doing the right thing even if we tried."

[Fuzzz]

In such case I tell people that my crystal ball is currently in service...

[maniac]

I know for a fact in one of our ict suites there are 4 computers currently not working, but I'm stubbonly waiting for the teacher in the classroom to report them to us. She hasn't even mentioned it in passing yet.

 

We do have a helpdesk, and it is used quite well. Almost 600 calls since the beginning of September, which is not a bad work rate. This doesn't include the ones that never made it to the helpdesk, although I do try and retrospectively log these just to keep track of them.

 

Mike

[GrumbleDook]

There are a number of members on here who have talked about the proactive work that they do rather than reactive work. If they could pipe up with examples of how proactive work has reduced this sort of thing it might be handy ... things like visiting each department on a rota to discuss needs or issues?

[DrPerceptron]

We do it to keep 2 very "special" people happy, however, it still remains reactive, never finding anything out until we go over there.

[Andrew_C]

If they could pipe up with examples of how proactive work has reduced this sort of thing it might be handy

I'm busy fixing classroom PCs, videos, DVDs etc into racks with security screws to prevent ANY further tampering with connections etc. It's not met with universal approval, but is going to save me hugely in shoe leather!

[beeswax]

There are a number of members on here who have talked about the proactive work that they do rather than reactive work. If they could pipe up with examples of how proactive work has reduced this sort of thing it might be handy ... things like visiting each department on a rota to discuss needs or issues?

 

now that you mention it, I recall bossman saying something along those lines, but possibly related to something else, which is why I didn't make the connection. thanks for the prod.

[User3204]

As a proactive measure, I switch on two computer rooms every morning and switch them off at night. This allows me to give the machines a twice daily once-over.

 

My tech does the same to another two computer rooms.

 

We assume the ICT Teacher is competent enough to do the same to his teaching room (although he is new, and we do have to keep asking "is it all okay?").

 

We ignore the other 6 computer rooms, as we're trying to make the point we're understaffed... and they're actually based within specific departments.

 

Until my McAfee EPO server failed recently, I would check to see if machines reporting in, and check up on anything that hadn't reported in within 90 days.

 

Being able to know that there is one or two machines dead (or dying) in a room, just means we can sort them that day, or the next. 'course it does appear to be the same machines causing issues everytime.

[grumpy_git]

Since we fill the printers in the IT rooms I generally go through twice a day through all 3 IT rooms and the library area, and it's usually obvious if a machine is poorly, or a keyboard broken or such.

 

Computers in other classrooms we only get to see if we're called out to fix them (or something in the vicinity and notice it in passing).

 

We had a room with an IWB, and the computer linked to it was replaced, but I was distracted halfway through and had to leave the job of installing the drivers and connecting the VGA lead, until later.

 

This was in September - it was the following July until someone reported it, and then "I've GOT to have it for this lesson! I use it all the time!". So, er, you use it all the time yet we never actually plugged it in? And it's been like this for almost a year and you've not reported it?

 

One of those moments where I just say nothing and walk away to avoid saying something I'll later regret!